Essential Oils

Our Tea Tree soap is made with goat buttermilk and Shea butter. We add Lavender essential oil to balance it out. It is a favorite of people with skin problems, because it’s moisturizing plus you get the medicinal properties of Tea Tree oil. Many folks use Tea Tree soap in conjunction with Tea Tree Body Butter to ease the symptoms of skin problems during the winter months.

Skin Care Tip
Tea Tree oil has natural anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal properties. By adding itl to our Shea Body Butter, you get a very good multipurpose lotion.

Tea tree can be useful in helping to ease the symptoms of eczema, psoriasis, fungal infections of the nail, diaper rash, acne, and other problems like athlete’s foot, head lice, poison ivy and ringworm. It is also used as a local antiseptic for cuts and abrasions, for burns, insect bites, boils, toothache, infections of the mouth and nose, sore throat, and for ear infections.and.

Some people add a Tea Tree diluted in a carrier oil and add it to bath water to treat cough, bronchial congestion, and pulmonary inflammation.

I have battled flies in horse’s ears since I was a kid. Here in the Northeast the black flies are here from April until frost. If you don’t do anything, these nasty little blood suckers turn your horses ears into a crusty mass of dried blood. I’m thinking it doesn’t feel too good to your horse either.

One solution is a fly mask with ears, but our Pony Cadilac Man doesn’t care for them. I know people say that not clipping the hair in their ears helps, but ears couldn’t be any hairier than Caddy’s so I’m not sure it makes any difference. But here is what I have found that works great and I didn’t have to look too far; Alabu Tea Tree Body Butter. I apply it every morning inside his ears and it heals any bites already there ( sometimes I forget to check for flies in his ears in the Spring) and keeps them from getting new ones. I also use it on the sheath area and the inside of our pony’s back legs where the horse flies like to bite. It heals and protects from them too. I have to say it works better than anything I have ever tried. I could probably apply less often, but Caddy really likes it, so usually he gets it every day. I think he likes the ear massage as much as keeping the flies away.

Lavender essential oil is one of the most widely used essential oils. Our ancestors knew they could use Lavenders camphor floral fragrance to deodorize and “clean” clothes and bedding as well as bodies. Research has shown that Lavender essential oil does indeed have some antibacterial and antifungal activity. In addition, it is an excellent aid in healing wounds and ulcers of the skin. But that’s not all. It also has some local anesthetic properties that help to relieve pain.Lavender Essential oil can be used to relieve pain from burns and bee stings. And if that’s not enough to make you think you should have some of this oil in your medicine cabinet, new studies are showing it is useful in the treatment of antibiotics resistant bacteria like MRSA. More information about Lavender Essential oil can be found here at Robert Tisserand’s web site.

I posted this last winter but I thought I would post it again. This is the perfect time of year to use a scrub to help keep your rough winter dry skin patches in check. So here is the low down on the the difference between a salt scrub and a sugar scrub and a DIY recipe too! Enjoy!

So you may be wondering why use body scrubs? Should I use a sugar or a salt scrub? Can I make it myself? The good news; it’s easy to make it yourself for a fraction of the cost of buying one. Here is why you might like to try a body scrub: some folks, especially mature woman, find they have dry rough patches on various parts of your skin no matter how good your skin care routine. And this time of year, when it’s really cold and dry it really compounds the problem. This is when body scrubs can be particularly helpful. Body scrub ingredients helps to exfoliate the rough dead dry skin and moisturize at the same time. The scrubbing part is usually sugar or salt but sometimes grains like ground oats or almonds can be used too. The moisturizing part is often Sweet Almond oil or Olive oil, or any moisturizing oil.

Scrubbers; Sugar is finer then salt and dissolves more quickly which makes it the perfect all around exfoliate. If you prefer something courser use salt but it is too abrasive for your face or sensitive skin and stings if you have a break in your skin. For something less abrasive try ground oatmeal, it is very gentle and is also a humectant but it won’t dissolve in your shower, so you may need to make sure it all goes down the drain.

Moisturizer: You don’t have to stick with Almond or Olive oil. I like them because they are both very stable and have a long shelf life and are good for your skin. If you use virgin coconut oil it smells really yummy!

TO MAKE a body scrub simply measure out 1 part oil and 2 parts sugar, mix well and store in a wide mouth jar. You can add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil.

TO USE: Step into your shower with the water off and apply it to dry skin (remember the sugar will dissolve in water). Being careful not to get water into your jar, take a small amount in your palms and rub onto your skin where needed. Rub for a minute or two and then turn the shower on to rinse off. After you towel off you can still apply your favorite moisturizer as usual. I apply the large Shea Body Butter to the problem areas. I find doing this at least once a week keeps my skin feeling smooth and comfortable this time of year.

Ahh peppermint essential oil, so cool and refreshing!

My mom always had a patch of peppermint in the garden that we used for tea. I have one too but mint is a rather invasive species, so I try keep in contained in it’s own area. This ancient herb has long been valued for its use in flavoring from sweets to tooth paste. It has also been widely used as a medicine and as it’s dried leaves as an aromatic. It is a small perennial native to the Mediterranean, but cultivated in many parts of the world. Peppermint has a much stronger scent than other mints such as spearmint and is one of the most popular herbs used for perfuming. It was used in many different cultures to bring a refreshing scent to the air and welcome guests into homes. It’s familiar characteristic smell and taste is hard to describe being cooling and hot at the same time.

Peppermint essential oil’s major constituent, menthol, is it’s main active ingredient. It is reported to have many therapeutic properties. It is widely used for relief of digestive problems, muscle spasms, infections, inflammation, arthritis, asthma and sinus problems.

I have heard it can be used for an insect repellent and I do add it to my concoction to keep the bugs off the horses in the summer (but really, I think bugs are winning and are taking over the world). The last few years I have been using cotton balls soaked in peppermint essential oil to keep mice from taking up residence in the closet in our garage and it really works (I won that one at least :o)

In the summer try a cool refreshing glass of peppermint ice tea or just add some peppermint to your regular ice tea. In the winter I like a cozy warm cup of hot peppermint tea with a little honey, especially when I’m feeling a bit under the weather. And if you like a real morning pick me up, try our peppermint soap in your morning shower.